The 10 commandments of topless selfies

1) Thou shalt not be a skinny cunt

2) Thou must find good lighting and practice posing

3) Thou shalt not be fat

4) Thou shalt not post anything admitting that you think you're hench (we all do so keep it to yourself) in your caption or put anything that can give anyone reason to take the piss out of you.

5) Thou shalt not tag people to gain interactions

6) Thou shalt not hashtag

7) Thou shalt not post a topless selfie if someone more aesthetic than you follows you unless you know them and they're a nice person

8) Thou shalt rip anyone who comments on strength or size by questioning their virginity and slandering their partner as less desirable than wilderbeast

9) Thou shalt not pull down your shorts/boxers to basically reveal your penis

10) Thou shalt edit on instagram with Valencia filter and sharpen/enhance the image to remove a few % body fat and give you a nice tan

Follow these rules and thou shalt be rewarded with blessings of boobies and high quality selfies

The squat challenge

Instagram created the squat challenge and it went viral, but what was it, did it work and how could it be improved?

Well the squat challenge consisted of this;

This was the viral system to get girls a bum

Now when it comes to the squat challenge, i have a few fundamental flaws.

1. Doing more squats does not directly correlate to a better bum 
2. Squatting 3 days in a row is overtraining
3. 250 squats would be boring as hell
4. What do you do when you finish the challenge

In order to get a "better" bum, squats are important, however the quantity less so rather than quality. There is no mention of range of motion or correct form when squatting. Many girls i know, that tried the challenge have injured their knees through jerky motions and improper form. 

When squatting you can aim to hit either primarily interior or exterior quad as well as more core involvement and more strain across the hamstrings during the eccentric via the position of the feet.

In terms of a generic squat this is ideal;

However change the "straight back" for neutral spine position, add more depth into the squat to go below parallel and feet slightly outwards. This is how you squat. 

In reference to the squat challenge training you to do more squats each day. This just builds up muscular endurance. Ie you can do more squats. Great, but that isn't going to get you a bigger, better bum or shapely quads.

What you really should be doing are for growth, weighted squats, in the hypertrophy rep range, this falls between 6-12 reps, and for this instance lets say you shoot between the 10-12 rep range, ideally for the best bum, you need a well formatted leg day, something a little like this;

• Warmup - bike - 5 minutes & dynamic stretching
• Barbell back squats - ass to grass - 4 sets - 10-12 reps
• Barbell walking lunges - 3 sets - 10 reps (each side)
• Stiff leg deadlift (tense your quads)  - 3 sets - 10 reps
• Leg extension - 3 sets - 12 reps
• Calf raises - reps to failure - 2 sets
• Cooldown & static/developmental stretching

The reps should be done with optimal form and control. The time under tension should be around 2 seconds on the concentric (upward) movement and around 4 seconds on the eccentric (downward) movement, as most growth is stimulated through the eccentric, tearing more fibres.

This can easily be progressed, changed and regressed to suit the needs of the end user but is much more effective as a whole, less tedious and developmental than the squat challenge. 

I hope this helps and puts you a step in the right direction to get the bum you've always dreamed of

Jordan 

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The idiots guide to training splits

I work with James Lawson, he, like me, goes to the gym. However James trains each body part every time he goes to the gym and does not realise that he's tearing fibres without allowing them to repair. A process which is causing him to get no growth.

A simple way to avoid in essence overtraining is to implement what we call a training split.

This is where you train different muscle groups on different days to allow the growth and repair window to take place, causing actual progress in both muscular development, strength and really decreases your time in the gym, but increases the effectiveness of exercise.

Beginners should ideally stick to no more than a 3 day split, as initially you're looking for muscular co-ordination, through compound movements and trying to gain as much as you can from the start, with large rest time for growth and repair. So this is the split that i'd advise;

• Legs
• Push
• Pull 

As a beginner, people always tend to put off training legs, but by putting it first in the week, you get it out of the way, which means you are actually training legs, and can avoid then thinking 6 months down the line "shit, i should've started training legs earlier because now i'm not symmetrical" and having to train them twice a week to catch up.

The movements that you really want to hit are the big, heavy compound lifts, the mother of all exercises;

1. Deadlifts
2. Squats

IF nothing else, implement these two lifts into your routine, but remember form > weight, increase your time under tension, tearing more fibres through the largest available range of motion. 

There is really no need to isolate from the start. You need a mind-muscle connection to isolate correctly, something you will not have until a long long way down the line in training. Something which very few ever accomplish. However when you do, you can pin-point exact locations in the muscular contractions, with variations stimulate growth and contract exactly how the muscle needs to for your body. 

A common mistake beginners make is to not train in the right rep range. When looking for muscular growth or hypertrophy, you ideally should train in the 6-12 rep range. If training for strength 3-5 rep range and for muscular endurance 12+ reps. 

In my opinion, the time spent in the gym should be kept to a minimum, focus on strategised intensity, rather than longevity. Make every second count. Remain focused with no distraction. Train with heart, passion and controlled rage. Focusing on each contraction. The results you will see from 40-50 minute sessions in this system are much more impressive than people's 2-3 hour slugfests, where they leave the gym exhausted. 

So James, and anyone else whom is taking up training, learn from mine and others mistakes, utilise the knowledge that years of training, personal training and sculpting physiques has come to guide you. And you will be able to accomplish greatness, much more quickly than your predecessors. Eliminate the errors from the outset, trust me, it'll make it easier in the long run. 

Any questions feel free to message/tweet/email me as well as any blog requests

Jordan :)

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The 5 Top Ab Workouts I've Ever Done

What i'm doing here is giving you 5 ab workouts of varying difficulty that serve different purposes, give them a try and let me know how they work for you.

Workout 1 - The quintuple set
3 sets - reps to failure - 30 seconds rest between each set - treat as superset, no rest between exercises

1. Hanging leg raises
2. Cable crunches
3. Russian twists
4. Lying leg raises
5. Core ball crunch 

I pretty much just stole that from Steve Cook, but its cool and you do feel it, however its not so hard as to really feel it the next day or so on. Really good for abdominal muscular endurance. 

Workout 2 - The Supersets

Superset one - 3 sets - failure & 12 reps each side

Straight leg pullups & cable side crunches

Superset two - 3 sets - 16-20reps & 10 reps

Decline oblique situps & rollouts 

Leg raises - 1 bent knee, 1 straight leg = 1 rep - 3 sets - 15 reps 

Workout 3 - The Flashy

Windscreen wipers - 3 sets - Reps to failure

Hanging leg raises - Straight leg - 3 sets - Reps to failure

Core ball plank - 3 sets - Failure - 30 seconds rest

Workout 4 - Functional 1

Partner Leg throws - 21 reps - 3 sets - swap and no rest 

Plank tri-set - 2 sets - 30 seconds rest

Side plank - Failure

Centre plank - Failure 

Other side plank - Failure

Workout 5 - Functional 2 

Partner core ball & oblique situps - 

One rep = 1 oblique sit up each side, one full sit up & one sit up with core ball passed from partner

3 sets - 10 reps

Plank - Vibration plate & weighted

3 sets - Failure - 30 seconds rest

Hope you find them quick, difficult and useful, good luck giving them a try and let me know how you get on!!

Jordan Mason

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Your guide to abs

In this blog i'm looking to answer one of the most sought after questions in a gym environment.
"How do i get abs"

As part of this i'll break into theory, training and diet.

First off, i'll inform you all, I DO NOT TRAIN ABS. I did for a long time and when getting close to a shoot or event i'll maybe do it for a couple of weeks. However if you hit compound exercises right and diet pretty clean, you really don't need to train abs in my experience and somewhat expert opinion.

However, if you are looking to train abs and really feel that its necessary. I'll try and give you a reasonable guide on what sort of works best.

How often?
Well, just like any muscle group, when trained for hypertrophy (growth), they need around 72 hours to repair and grow. So twice a week maximum.

Diet?
Keep it clean, i typically attempt to recreate the physical aspect of my body in terms of my diet. I never get above 10% body fat, and no meal i ever take in contains more than 10% fat. See the correlation?

So in terms of my diet, i'd split it up via macros (macronutrients for those unaware brahs);

• Carbs - 50%
• Protein - 40%
• Fats - 10%

And if you diet in any way other than the IIFYM (if it fits in your macros) approach, you're not really on a diet. Of course you can restrict/change calorie intake. But your base macros linked with calorie surplus are key. 

Then we'll go onto the sorts of foods you should ideally be eating;

When clean eating you need to stick primarily to complex carbs (brown rice, sweet potato, brown pasta, wholegrain wheat), protein (chicken breasts, egg whites, steak) and a low fat % in all sources.

I'll do another blog on diet alone at some point and shall outlay my basic lean bulking, cutting and current diets or the likes otherwise this'd just be longgggg. 

Exercises that work best?
Well like any muscle group. There are different sections that comprise your abs.
For me these are;
Serratus anterior, Internal obliques, External obliques, Transverse abdominus and rectus abdominus.

Ideally for a perfect "ab" workout you'd look to hit all of these.
But since its such a small aspect of training in reality there's no need.
I personally would look to have one isometric exercise to work the deep core muscles, and either one or two contracting exercises to focus on the overlaying fibres.

So for me these are the best exercises;
Serratus - db pullover
Internal obliques - side plank
External obliques - windscreen wipers, side crunch, oblique situps, russian twists
Transverse abdominus - plank, straight leg pullups
Rectus abdominus - leg throws, crunches, cable crunch, hanging leg raises

Depending upon how advanced you are, different exercises will work best. However my favourite is windscreen wipers because of the control element and the fact it just looks really cool.

I'll do another blog on sample ab workouts. To make it simpler so you can all just screenshot and try them out, let me know how you get on and if you need any more in depth advice.

Jordan Mason

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5 top tips to lose fat

As a former personal trainer and fitness model my most asked question was;

"Jordan, how do i lose fat most quickly" 

So here i give you my 5 best tips to lose fat most quickly

1. HIIT - High intensity interval training
2. Increase water intake
3. Eat clean
4. Lift weights
5. Calorie deficit 

High intensity interval training is a system by where instead of steady state long slow duration cardio, you implement periods of high intensity followed by active rest. This promotes fat loss as you work across all energy systems, not just aerobic. 

Increasing water intake is integral to a healthy lifestyle, 70% of everything is made of water, the more water you have, the more hydrated you are, up until a point where water manipulation comes into effect when you go past around 11 litres per day. This can be difficult and i wouldn't recommend unless you have a lot of access to a toilet. I would also suggest that you don't implement this for a long time. Max of around a week. However the results can be spectacular. Basically, the mass increase in water intake causes your body to flush everything out. And by everything, i mean everything! So that when you decrease your water intake back to normal, your body is still flushing out everything, including fat cells.  Which leaves you looking dry and tight. Shedding a lot of weight very quickly. 

Eating clean. If you want to lose fat, eat a balanced diet made up of good sources in reasonable quantities. Highly recommend complex carbs, slower release of energy, leaving you fuller for longer. This doesn't necessarily mean low fat produce. You can eat whatever you want, but be wary of quantity and balance. 

Lifting weights, not enough people do it in my opinion. Especially women. The misguided approach that they'll get "hench" as opposed to being skinny is oh so wrong. Those "hench" women you see are using testosterone to promote muscle growth as women have a natural incapability of growing muscle when compared to men. What i'm getting at is, lifting weight at a high intensity increases calorie use, increases your metabolism and promotes protein synthesis, increasing body muscle % and decreasing body fat %. Now go lift weights. 

A calorie deficit is essential in reducing body fat, as reducing fat means reducing weight. And the only way to reduce weight naturally is to consume less than you expend. However this needs to be done carefully and you should aim for between 300-500 calories per day under your BMR to remain safe. Too many people use crash diets which work quickly then stop, and then revert back to their initial position because the habits have not changed. 

Hope you find this helpful, 

Jordan Mason 

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